HB 23

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to parole for adolescent offenders;
3	providing a short title; amending s. 947.16, F.S.;
4	providing definitions; providing that an adolescent
5	offender who was 15 years of age or younger at the time of
6	commission of an offense and who is sentenced to life or a
7	single or cumulative term of 10 years or more in prison is
8	eligible for parole if the offender has been incarcerated
9	for a minimum period and has not previously been convicted
10	of or adjudicated delinquent for certain offenses;
11	requiring an initial eligibility interview to determine
12	whether the adolescent offender has been sufficiently
13	rehabilitated for parole; providing criteria to determine
14	sufficient rehabilitation; providing eligibility for a
15	reinterview after a specified period for adolescent
16	offenders denied parole; providing that the adolescent
17	offender be incarcerated in a facility that has a GED
18	program; providing that if the adolescent offender is
19	granted parole, the adolescent offender must participate
20	in any available reentry program for 2 years; defining the
21	term "reentry program"; providing priority for certain
22	programs; providing for eligibility for an initial
23	eligibility interview for offenders in their eighth or
24	subsequent year of incarceration on the effective date of
25	the act; providing for retroactive application; providing
26	an effective date.
27
28	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30	Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Second Chance for
31	Children in Prison Act."
32	Section 2.  Subsections (2) through (6) of section 947.16,
33	Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3) through (7),
34	respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to that section
35	to read:
36	947.16  Eligibility for parole; initial parole interviews;
37	powers and duties of commission; adolescent offender
38	eligibility.--
39	(2)(a)  As used in this subsection, the term:
40	1.  "Adolescent offender" means an offender who was 15
41	years of age or younger at the time the criminal act was
42	committed and was sentenced to life or to a single or cumulative
43	term of imprisonment of 10 years or more.
44	2.  "Current offense" means the offense for which the
45	adolescent offender is being considered for parole and any other
46	crimes committed by the adolescent offender within a 1-month
47	period of that offense, or for which sentences run concurrent to
48	that offense.
49	(b)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) or of
50	any other law to the contrary, an adolescent offender may be
51	eligible for parole as provided in this subsection. An
52	adolescent offender is ineligible under this subsection if she
53	or he, before conviction of the current offense, was convicted
54	of or adjudicated delinquent for any violation of:
55	1.  Section 782.04, entitled "Murder";
56	2.  Section 784.041, entitled "Felony battery; domestic
57	battery by strangulation";
58	3.  Section 784.045, entitled "Aggravated battery";
59	4.  Section 784.07, entitled "Assault or battery of law
60	enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care
61	providers, public transit employees or agents, or other
62	specified officers; reclassification of offenses; minimum
63	sentences";
64	5.  Section 784.08, entitled "Assault or battery on persons
65	65 years of age or older; reclassification of offenses; minimum
66	sentence";
67	6.  Section 787.01, entitled "Kidnapping; kidnapping of
68	child under age 13, aggravating circumstances";
69	7.  Section 790.07, entitled "Persons engaged in criminal
70	offense, having weapons";
71	8.  Section 794.011, entitled "Sexual battery";
72	9.  Section 812.133, entitled "Carjacking";
73	10.  Section 812.135, entitled "Home-invasion robbery";
74	11.  Section 827.03, entitled "Abuse, aggravated abuse, and
75	neglect of a child; penalties"; or
76	12.  Section 828.12(2), entitled "Cruelty to animals."
77	(c)  Before an adolescent offender may be granted parole
78	under this subsection, she or he must have an initial
79	eligibility interview to determine whether she or he has been
80	sufficiently rehabilitated while in the custody of the
81	department to justify granting parole. The initial eligibility
82	interview will occur in the eighth year of incarceration. In
83	order to determine if the adolescent offender has been
84	sufficiently rehabilitated, she or he must have successfully
85	completed the General Educational Development (GED) program
86	unless waived based on disability and have received no approved
87	disciplinary reports for a period of at least 2 years
88	immediately prior to the current eligibility interview. The
89	hearing examiner must also take into serious consideration the
90	wishes of the victim or the opinions of the victim's next of kin
91	and consider whether:
92	1.  The adolescent offender was a principal to the criminal
93	offense or an accomplice to the offense, a relatively minor
94	participant in the criminal offense, or acted under extreme
95	duress or domination of another person.
96	2.  The adolescent offender has shown remorse for the
97	criminal offense.
98	3.  The adolescent offender's age, maturity, and
99	psychological development at the time of the offense affected
100	her or his behavior.
101	4.  The adolescent offender, while in the custody of the
102	department, has aided inmates suffering from catastrophic or
103	terminal medical, mental, or physical conditions or has
104	prevented risk or injury to staff, citizens, or other inmates.
105	5.  The adolescent offender has successfully completed
106	educational and self-rehabilitation programs.
107	6.  The adolescent offender was a victim of sexual,
108	physical, or emotional abuse.
109	(d)  An adolescent offender who is not granted parole under
110	this subsection after an initial eligibility interview shall be
111	eligible for a reinterview 2 years after the date of the denial
112	of the grant of parole and every 2 years thereafter.
113	(e)  An adolescent offender must serve her or his sentence
114	in a facility that has a General Educational Development (GED)
115	program unless the adolescent offender has already successfully
116	completed a GED program.
117	(f)  If the adolescent offender is granted parole, the
118	adolescent offender must participate in any available reentry
119	program for 2 years. As used in this paragraph, the term
120	"reentry program" means a program that promotes effective
121	reintegration of adolescent offenders back into communities upon
122	release and provides one or more of the following: vocational
123	training, placement services, transitional housing, mentoring,
124	or drug rehabilitation. Priority shall be given to those reentry
125	programs that are residential, highly structured, self-reliant,
126	and therapeutic communities.
127	Section 3.  An adolescent offender, as defined in s.
128	947.16(2)(a), Florida Statutes, as created by this act, who is
129	in her or his eighth or subsequent year of incarceration on the
130	effective date of this act must receive an initial eligibility
131	interview as provided in s. 947.16(2)(c), Florida Statutes, as
132	created by this act, if she or he is otherwise eligible.
133	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law,
134	and applies with respect to offenses committed before, on, or
135	after that date.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.